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German Cat Dies of Bird Flu

HHS Buys More Antiviral Drugs

March 1, 2006

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Alarm over the spread of bird flu grew today after Germany reported a dead cat had been infected with the virus, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said it was stocking up on antiviral drugs that could be used in the event of a bird flu or other influenza pandemic.

The cat may have eaten a dead bird, authorities said.

Germany told pet owners to keep their cats indoors and their dogs tied up in areas hit by bird flu after the discovery of the dead cat on a northern island where the H5N1 virus has been identified in wild birds.

The World Health Organization was quick to offer reassurance to pet owners.

"There is no present evidence that domestic cats play a role in the transmission cycle of H5N1 viruses. To date, no human case has been linked to exposure to a diseased cat," it said.

"Unlike the case in domestic and wild birds, there is no evidence that domestic cats are a reservoir of the virus," WHO said in a statement.

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said his department has purchased 1.75 million treatment courses of the antiviral drug zanamivir (Relenza) from GlaxoSmithKline and 12.4 million treatment courses of oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu) from Roche.

The latest purchases will be added to the 5.5 million treatment courses of antiviral drugs for the Strategic National Stockpile and be provided to the states if an influenza pandemic is declared to be imminent.

"Having a stockpile of antiviral drugs is an important part of our pandemic influenza preparedness plan," Leavitt said. "These purchases are a continuation of our aggressive multi-pronged approach to a potentially critical public health challenge."

The HHS Pandemic Plan calls for the department, in concert with the Congress and in collaboration with the states, to ultimately acquire sufficient quantities of antiviral drugs to treat 25 percent of the U.S. population.

An added goal of these purchases is to stimulate development of expanded domestic production capacity sufficient to accommodate subsequent needs through normal commercial transactions.

HHS officials said the acquisition announcement builds on the Administration’s overall planning to increase pandemic preparedness.

In December 2005, Leavitt met with senior officials from all 50 states and launched a series of preparedness summits to be held in every state over the next several months with the goal of enhancing state and local preparedness.

To date, HHS officials said pandemic preparedness summits have been held in 18 states including Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.

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